The bidding war for Zion Williamson is about to reach a level we’ve perhaps never seen before.

That’s the prediction of sports marketing expert Sonny Vaccaro, who believes the biggest shoe companies on earth will do whatever they can to get the signature of college basketball’s transcendent star.

"In my lifetime, I think it's going to be the biggest bidding war ever done," Vaccaro told ESPN. "I would put them all on go."

Williamson’s Duke side just crashed out of the NCAA Tournament, which isn’t good news for his team, but it gives the projected No. 1 overall pick the opportunity to begin his professional career. Part of that is negotiating a shoe deal, and, in his case, he has every choice imaginable.

The 18-year-old averaged 22.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game as a Blue Devil, but became known for his incredible stature, standing at 6’7 and weighing in at a hefty 285 lbs.

Even then, it’s the forward’s impressive athleticism for his size is what’s making these shoe companies salivate at the prospect of signing him.

The man who signed Michael Jordan to his first ever shoe deal, Vaccaro told ESPN that he’s spoken with Williamson’s family, and has prepared them to receive an offer that would even best LeBron James’ $87 million rookie year shoe deal with Nike.

"(Williamson’s stepfather) has never given me a feeling that I've gotten from other parents of kids, where he didn't necessarily know what was about to happen -- when you see a dollar sign and you see numbers that are off the wall," Vaccaro said.

"We're not talking about 100 dollars, we're talking about 100 million dollars."

So, how seriously are these companies taking the potential recruitment of Williamson?

ESPN’s reporting indicates an appeasement may take place, with the potential of targeting Williamson to be a Jordan athlete instead of a straight Nike athlete, due to the number of NBA players currently with the brand.

There was also the moment during Duke’s game against North Carolina, when Williamson’s Nike shoe blew up, leading to knee sprain for the teenager, along with stock market value drop of about $1.1 bullion for Nike.

The very next day, Nike had travelled to Duke to investigate the issue, according to ESPN, before heading off for China to work out how to best manufacture a shoe for a person of Williamson’s stature and athleticism.

"I don't know if they're going to get him," Vaccaro said. "But if there's an odds-on favourite to getting him, it would be Nike."

Duke’s players are mandated to wear Nike shoes throughout the season, though we’ve seen Williamson don Adidas from time to time - the brand sponsored his high school team - with many seeing those sorts of actions are part of the bargaining process.

The reporting from ESPN claims that any sort of shoe deal will be done ‘relatively quickly’, with brands having already put together presentations to show Williamson’s camp.

From the usuals like Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour, to the newcomer like Puma and New Balance, it seems as though everyone is putting their name in the hat for Williamson, and Vaccaro believes the North Carolina native can have an impact on a company that would match some of the greats of the NBA.

"What Michael did for Nike, Zion could do for somebody new," Vaccaro said.

"What Steph Curry did for Under Armour -- they weren't new, but they weren't there ... I would find a new way to make him America's child. I just think America loves Zion Williamson."